I don't think Kevin is soft at all. He's not afraid to throw his body around on defense and certainly not afraid to foul someone hard. I just think his offensive mindset is to "get a clean shot off" without getting it blocked. He now has confidence in his jump shot and hook shot so he'll try and get it off cleanly whenever he can which means avoiding contact. The guy hasn't played basketball for very long. It is a veteran skill to be able to pump fake, get the defender in a compromised position, draw contact, and give yourself a chance to make the basket or go to the stripe, or hopefully both. Kevin is still figuring out the more basic elements of the game. But he does continue to improve year after year, which is encouraging. I think this one piece of the game is something that will take him a while longer to figure out. He'll eventually have an "AH-HA" moment where it clicks for him, but he's not there yet.

Mr. Grundle wrote:I don't think Kevin is soft at all. He's not afraid to throw his body around on defense and certainly not afraid to foul someone hard. I just think his offensive mindset is to "get a clean shot off" without getting it blocked. He now has confidence in his jump shot and hook shot so he'll try and get it off cleanly whenever he can which means avoiding contact. The guy hasn't played basketball for very long. It is a veteran skill to be able to pump fake, get the defender in a compromised position, draw contact, and give yourself a chance to make the basket or go to the stripe, or hopefully both. Kevin is still figuring out the more basic elements of the game. But he does continue to improve year after year, which is encouraging. I think this one piece of the game is something that will take him a while longer to figure out. He'll eventually have an "AH-HA" moment where it clicks for him, but he's not there yet.

Where yeah been Mr Grundle

It does appear that he is making some progress when watching him. At least in some areas. But it's not showing in the numbers. Check the link I posted on the previous page. He is down in lots of categories.

It just kind of frustrating because there are so many things we really need that he is capable of doing that he isn't. Maybe slipping the pick is helping him stay out of foul trouble but we need him to set some. Specially when Wall gets back. We also need him rebounding. The pump fact would be awesome because he needs to get to the line. I think many of us agree that he is focused on getting off that clean shot. It will be a process to teach him to do different. I see small signs that he is learning. He did it once the other game.

Talented young man physically. His offense seem to have gotten better. But there is so much more he is capable of. I would settle for just seeing more consistent effort of him trying to do these things we read the coaches, Nene and Okafor are trying to teach him. I can live with the mistakes while he gets there.

nice to see his jumper falling with some frequency (vs IND) ...hopefully that will allow him to shot fake, dribble drive. Theproblem then will be how well he reacts to the defensive rotationif he's stopped short of his hook shot range. He needs to driveto either side like Nene does and make defenders work to defend him.And see double teams before they arrive so he can avoid TOs.

also in addition to shot fake, dribble drive he should get comfywith shot fake, one dribble (get closer) pull up.

So far this season, he's at a career low (per 40 minutes) in at-rim FGA. His percentage on those shots is solid. He's at a career high on shots from 3-9 feet and from 10-15 feet. His percentages from those ranges are significantly lower than his at-rim attempts, but are okay for the Wizards (.444 efg). His conversion rate on those shots would not be acceptable for a decent team since he's below the league average on efg, and he's not drawing fouls on those shots.

The biggest change is on the sh*t shot -- 16-23 feet. Last season, he averaged 1.4 long 2pt attempts per 40 minutes -- and he hit .460. This year, he's attempting 5.1 long 2pters per 40 -- shooting just .360. It's kinda amazing to see that big a change, especially considering the franchise's experience with Blatche's preposterous shot selection.

Blatche went to Brooklyn where his shot selection radically improved. Seraphin has apparently slid into the Blatche slot -- a big man who takes crappy perimeter shots. And why should Seraphin do it differently? He's averaging a career high in minutes.

"A lot of what we call talent is the desire to practice."-- Malcolm Gladwell

So far this season, he's at a career low (per 40 minutes) in at-rim FGA. His percentage on those shots is solid. He's at a career high on shots from 3-9 feet and from 10-15 feet. His percentages from those ranges are significantly lower than his at-rim attempts, but are okay for the Wizards (.444 efg). His conversion rate on those shots would not be acceptable for a decent team since he's below the league average on efg, and he's not drawing fouls on those shots.

The biggest change is on the sh*t shot -- 16-23 feet. Last season, he averaged 1.4 long 2pt attempts per 40 minutes -- and he hit .460. This year, he's attempting 5.1 long 2pters per 40 -- shooting just .360. It's kinda amazing to see that big a change, especially considering the franchise's experience with Blatche's preposterous shot selection.

Blatche went to Brooklyn where his shot selection radically improved. Seraphin has apparently slid into the Blatche slot -- a big man who takes crappy perimeter shots. And why should Seraphin do it differently? He's averaging a career high in minutes.

I think i may have to tweet him about that. I have been bugging him about going to the basket for awhile.

Looking at Nene's stats he takes 5.9 shots per game at the rim and 2.2 from 16+ feet. Seraphin takes more shots from 16+ than he does at the rim. He keeps saying he wants to learn from Nene but i am not seeing much evidence of it on the court.

So far this season, he's at a career low (per 40 minutes) in at-rim FGA. His percentage on those shots is solid. He's at a career high on shots from 3-9 feet and from 10-15 feet. His percentages from those ranges are significantly lower than his at-rim attempts, but are okay for the Wizards (.444 efg). His conversion rate on those shots would not be acceptable for a decent team since he's below the league average on efg, and he's not drawing fouls on those shots.

The biggest change is on the sh*t shot -- 16-23 feet. Last season, he averaged 1.4 long 2pt attempts per 40 minutes -- and he hit .460. This year, he's attempting 5.1 long 2pters per 40 -- shooting just .360. It's kinda amazing to see that big a change, especially considering the franchise's experience with Blatche's preposterous shot selection.

Blatche went to Brooklyn where his shot selection radically improved. Seraphin has apparently slid into the Blatche slot -- a big man who takes crappy perimeter shots. And why should Seraphin do it differently? He's averaging a career high in minutes.

Pretty troubling that this is happening. I would be curious though to see how he does with Wall back. I'm sure not having a good PG does not help him to get some easy shots, and without a versatile post game (can't create for himself) he's shooting more jumpers. I think the core problem is that he's still pretty limited offensively, other than his hook shots and occasional jumper.

dobrojim wrote:nice to see his jumper falling with some frequency (vs IND) ...hopefully that will allow him to shot fake, dribble drive. Theproblem then will be how well he reacts to the defensive rotationif he's stopped short of his hook shot range. He needs to driveto either side like Nene does and make defenders work to defend him.And see double teams before they arrive so he can avoid TOs.

also in addition to shot fake, dribble drive he should get comfywith shot fake, one dribble (get closer) pull up.

I would hope this stuff first. The driving from farther out like Nene is a more complicated move.

I would add the drop step in there and all the variations.

Drop step dunkDrop step pump fake then dunk/shoot

Those two with the outside moves you listedPump fake shootPump fake one dribble shoot

Those four moves are more then enough to get him started. Don't want to over complicate things.

They could also line him up like Denver does McGee on the baseline where someone else drives and dishes. Then its one step and dunk.

Beal worked a pump fake the other day. That is going to be huge for him in order to get people to stop covering him so tight. Once he gets that worked out, his game will open up a lot more.

I wonder if KS slipping screens is a result of him learning not to foul. Before the guards were leaving too much space so he had to step out to get contact and would inevitably foul. So now he sets the screen, and if the guard chooses not to use (by leaving too much space, usually because the defender forces him away from the screen because our guards suck) he slips it.

Comparing Rose to Wall is like asking which is a more impressive cat: A cheetah or a wolf? Dude, Wall ain’t no damn cat!

Zonkerbl wrote:I wonder if KS slipping screens is a result of him learning not to foul. Before the guards were leaving too much space so he had to step out to get contact and would inevitably foul. So now he sets the screen, and if the guard chooses not to use (by leaving too much space, usually because the defender forces him away from the screen because our guards suck) he slips it.

I think that is certainly part of it. KS had no reservations about setting crunching screens when his playing time was limited.

Zonkerbl wrote:I wonder if KS slipping screens is a result of him learning not to foul. Before the guards were leaving too much space so he had to step out to get contact and would inevitably foul. So now he sets the screen, and if the guard chooses not to use (by leaving too much space, usually because the defender forces him away from the screen because our guards suck) he slips it.

I wish I knew what happened to him. Remember in his first season when he was consistently laying out opponents on picks? He got called for the offensive foul a lot, but it was worth it. Now he seems allergic to contact.

If I were the PG and this clown kept slipping the screen so he could try and get the ball from me (without giving me any separation), I'd NEVER drop the ball down to Seraphin. I'd reverse it to the other side every single time.

A big who keeps slipping the screen is either:

1) Afraid of contact, and/or;2) A ball hog. Because they don't control the ball, they slip the screen so the guard hopefully gets doubled and the big gets the ball at the elbow (and in Seraphin's case) shoots the ball every single time.

If the Wizards are really after Rudy Gay, can we please put Seraphin into the package? Please?>

From these highlights intended for Vesely, I see Seraphin doing some really good things.

He hedges and recovers well defending pick and roll. Seraphin catches well and quickly throws a deft, big-to-big interior bounce pass with touch. He shows his nice hands and court awareness to catch a wrap-around from Vesely. Kevin's got terrible stats so far this season, but he has skills.

It is easy to focus on what Kevin Seraphin does wrong. It is currently unpopular, but I insist on showing what he does right. At times, Seraphin has "happy feet" IMO. He seems to be in a hurry and not at the moment trying to play a power game. Looking at his body, he seems suited to be a battering ram-type player. However, I perceive his mindset to be that of a guy who wants to beat guys with speed and skill.

I wonder what type things both Nene and Okafor practice with Kevin. What I readily see is how much he enjoys playing with the guys his age, John Wall and Jan Vesely. They are definitely in sync with each other.

I am anxious to see Seraphin's development moving forward. His post defense should not be undervalued.

Kelly Oubre has definitely gotten my attention. I truly wanted Portis and I like Looney a bunch, too.